Traveling north on US Route 95 from Coeur de Alene, Idaho we crossed the Long Bridge over the Pend Oreille River into Sandpoint, Idaho. Further north we checked into our hotel for the weekend. We got back in the car and drove into the downtown historic district of Sandpoint.
The historic homeland of the Kalispel Indian tribe, Sandpoint began to experience white settlement when fur trappers under the direction of North West Company agent and surveyor David Thompson built a trading post on the Hope peninsula in 1809. Thompson described the peninsula where Sand Creek empties into Lake Pend Oreille as a “pointe of sand,” an apt name for the village and town that would eventually grow up there.
We crossed this Bridge and went down the steps to the Sandpoint Byway Trail and walked north on the trail for a distance.
We didn’t walk on to City Beach and would explore that side of the highway on Saturday.
When we got back to our car I saw some graffiti that looked interesting in an alleyway and went across the street to take some photos while Dear waited in the car.
Before we drove back to register for our conference we stopped at The Hydra Steakhouse for an appetizer and refreshment.
The conference started out very well with great information and met some lovely people.
Action Packed Friday and Saturday in our corner of Washington State.
A pair of our ‘Coast’ kids drove over arriving late on Thursday evening. On Friday morning our Colville kids/grands joined us for breakfast and afterwards they all helped me to clear out our front planters to get them ready for Winter. What a huge blessing that was. And we did that in the rain, another blessing. JJ thought it was fun to stand right under the stream of rain water running off the roof!
95% of the photos I’m sharing are taken by Auntie LoLo! She is the best at capturing the moments.
The guys emptied several cart loads!
We all got dry clothes on. The kids enjoyed trying on Gramps’ Cub Scout caps. We warmed up over a nice hot bowl of borsch for lunch with a loaf of fresh baked bread by Jamie.
Dinner at our Colville Kids’ home with plans to meet at the Corn Maze when it opened on Saturday.
This is the first year of our annual Corn Maze adventure that the guys came, too, since they weren’t hunting this year.
Since Auntie Katie wasn’t with us this year Addy took on the job of Map navigation.
You can see that the weather was perfect for our trudge through the stalks of corn.
Addy had help navigating from Uncle Joshie and her daddy.
Sons
Daughters-in-law and in our hearts!
Checking our bearings…
Making great time finding the 10 stations!
The final post! We made it in record time.
Time to pick out some pumpkins to carve.
Back to the mountain for pumpkin carving and lunch.
Before naptime Dan lit the fire in the pit he built to have some Smores.
A perfect couple of days in beautiful Colville with family. Thank you Auntie Lolo for the photos!
As busy as Friday and Saturday were, Sunday was coming.
Starting on Thursday last through Sunday we were busy with family and church family. I’m bushed and will share all the wonderful photos of the events we enjoyed after I recuperate! Hope you all had a good weekend!
1. What’s something you wish you’d figured out sooner?
That even though our daughter was very bright (she was reading at age 3) she didn’t need to be in the ‘gifted’ classroom setting. I should have pulled her out of school and homeschooled her sooner in her elementary years. Her early primary teachers didn’t identify her giftedness and labeled her in some negative ways. In the 3rd grade she was identified as ‘gifted’ and then put in a special program for the 4th-6th grade at a different location than her regular neighborhood school. She was bullied by the other ‘gifted’ girls and it caused un-necessary stress and trauma in her young life. We pulled her out of school in the 4th grade and I homeschooled her until 7th grade. She was ready to go back to the public school setting at that time.
Katie and one of her pet rats. I think it’s Fats but it could be Pinky.
2. Something from childhood you still enjoy today?
Toast with avocado, lightly salted.
3. Are you a fidgeter?
I can be when I think things are taking longer than they should, especially in waiting rooms.
What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the word fidget?
Toddlers or kindergarteners in a classroom setting.
4. Your favorite fall vegetable?
Sweet Potatoes/Yams
How do you like it prepared?
Classic candied with marshmallows on top.
5. What’s something you find mildly annoying, but not annoying enough to actually do anything about? Might you now?
Having to facilitate events with large groups of people going through buffet lines and beverage areas makes one uber aware of space and the smooth flow of lines of people, etc. There are clueless people who have no conscious idea that they are blocking the process. Groups of people will form a circle of conversation right in front of the beverage area or other areas blocking others from getting to and from those spaces. As annoying as it is I have found that it is what it is and it will always be that way so the only thing I might do is say, ‘could you move your conversation from in front of the beverage area, please’? Mostly, I need to just go with the flow and after I’ve made sure everything is out and available I hide in the kitchen so I don’t have to watch.
6. Insert your own random thought here.
D is for Dirt. So thankful that our DIL is homeschooling our grands and that they can play outside and get dirty!
Since Joyce brought up pumpkin in her Wednesday Hodgepodge questions for today, I borrowed this photo from our daughter-in-law at the first pumpkin patch visit of this Autumn.
1. Thursday (Oct 13) is National Train Your Brain Day. What do you do to keep your brain in tip top shape? Is it helping?
Bible study keeps your brain sharp. When my Mother-in-law was living with us and signs of dementia started showing she was the sharpest when she was studying her Bible everyday and attending a Bible Study weekly. The Holy Spirit in followers of Jesus Christ illuminates the Word of God for us and helps us to discern and gives us understanding. The Word of God is living and enduring and it keeps my brain in tip top shape while teaching me how to live on this earth.
2. You can sit with anyone in the world and ‘pick their brain’…whom do you choose? Tell us why?
If we are talking about a living person…
Patricia MacArthur, wife of John MacArthur one of my favorite living pastors who is 83 and still preaching at the same church he started at 53 years ago. She has lived through ministry and suffering and I know there is a lot of wisdom to glean from her.
If I could choose someone who has died…
I’d choose my maternal grandfather who I never got to meet because he was killed in Persia after my parents immigrated here and before the rest of my mother’s family immigrated.
3. What’s something happening in the world (or your corner of it) right now that you have trouble ‘wrapping your brain around’?
Well you have opened up a can of worms here for sure. There is so much happening in this world that is unbelievable to me.
Calling good evil and evil good.
The whole gender identity stupidity.
The Border Crisis
The escalation of crime with no punishment for wrongdoing.
I can go on and on…
4. On a scale of 1-10 where do you fall in the pumpkin fanclub? (1=blech, 10=make it all pumpkin all the time) Tell us something delicious you’ve tasted recently that had some pumpkin in it somewhere.
I’m pretty much in the middle. I enjoy some things pumpkin but mostly baked items like cookies and bars or a good spicy soup. I’m not a fan of drinking pumpkin flavored coffee or any kind of flavored coffee, etc.
5. Share a favorite song, book, or movie with an autumn title, setting, or vibe.
I drew a blank on this one. I know I’ve read books or book series that included fall but nothing with that theme in the title. I did find this song by Nat King Cole…
6. Insert your own random thought here.
Speaking of Autumn…
I took this photo in Woodstock, U.K. on the grounds of Blenheim Palace on September 22nd of this year, the first day of Autumn. Winston Churchill was born at the Palace in the Autumn, on November 30th, 1874. He didn’t live at Blenheim but his parents were visiting Blenheim and the Mrs. went into labor and he ended up being born there. There are many tributes to him at the Palace and on the grounds and in the village of Woodstock, too.
While we were across the pond two of our Coast kids drove across the Cascades to visit our Colville kids. We were happy that they could use their key to use their guestroom in our home as usual even though we weren’t home.
My blog is my journal and scrapbook and photo album of our family events and I wanted to document this time with our Daughter-in-law’s wonderful photos! Those little ones grow so fast.
I’m at our Women’s Retreat that started last night at a Bible camp at Waitt’s Lake which is about 50 minutes away. Hope your weekend is going well.
On Saturday we met our family and daughter-in-law’s family at the Marcus Ciderfest. Classic cars and trucks play a big part in the fest and parade. The mustang belongs to Uncle Scott and the Thunderbird was gifted to our DIL from her grandfather.
After the cars were parked with the other classic cars and trucks we walked over to the apple processing operations to get some fresh apple cider before the crowds arrived.
Look at that mound of apple peelings!
We found a good position on the highway for the parade. Most of the participants in the parade throw candy out to the kids along the route. Our littles were magnets for the candy throwers and got a few pounds of candy!
Smokey the Bear started things off.
Colville Station Border Horse Patrol rode in the parade.
We were eagerly waiting for Granny Great and Jim to come along in Jim’s old car.
Here they come.
They see us!
There were lots of other cars and trucks and animals and politicians but these are all the photos from the parade that I’m sharing.
Waiting for a snack.
Up close and perfectly blurry. And then he insisted on taking a photo of me.
We said our goodbyes and took our 1/2 gallon of fresh cider, caramel apple and some farm stand cookies home.
Dear started on a new house project on Saturday morning before we left to the Ciderfest. Have I mentioned we’ve been waking up really early. He had a few hours to work before it was time to go. Our guest bathroom is getting a new counter top, sink, fixtures and backsplash. Once that is all done it will get a fresh coat of paint. Saturday morning was demo time.
We had a nice Sunday morning worshipping at church and came home for a relaxing day. How was your weekend?
We left the other side of the mountains for our 5 plus hour drive Monday at 3:15 am because sadly we both woke up earlier and couldn’t get back to sleep. We are recuperating and trying to get our internal clocks back in sync with the West Coast. It’s not easy. My head feels like stone. When the creative side of my brain starts working again I’ll start on my posts from Oxford and beyond. Thank you for your visits and following along on our trip.
Our Colville kids stopped by for a short visit and it was so good to get hugs from our grands.
On the highway home we spotted Fall colors and changing leaves. Soon those leaves will be falling. Hope all is well in your corners. Praying for those of you who have storms coming your way and for our friends on Prince Edward Island that their power will be restored soon!
Today Thursday the 22nd of September and the first day of Autumn we walked our feet off. After our hotel breakfast at 7am we walked to a free entrance to Blenheim Palace grounds only to find out the paths we wanted to take were closed and restricted because of work being done with dredging in the lake. We walked around the restricted paths and found our way to the Harry Potter Tree which I will post about later. Back to town and showers and lunch and then back to Blenheim grounds for a ticket to tour the grounds. On Friday we are heading back to Oxford for our last night in the United Kingdom.
The month of November and part of October our families were split apart by work responsibilities and other circumstances. Auntie Lolo flew over to be with Jamie while their hubbies were in Arizona on separate assignments. Our grands love it when Auntie Lolo comes to help their mommy.
Everyone made the most of their circumstances.
It’s always better together.
We love it when Auntie Lolo comes to visit, too.
While our sons were in Arizona in different parts of the state they managed to drive the distance and get together for some much needed R & R together.
“Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity! It is like the precious oil on the head, running down on the beard, on the beard of Aaron, running down on the collar of his robes! It is like the dew of Hermon, which falls on the mountains of Zion! For there the Lord has commanded the blessing, life forevermore.”
Psalm 133
These two with their work responsibilities keeping us apart are with us in spirit. Here they are at a marathon Lord of the Rings viewing party playing the part with their hair and attire.
Did I ever mention our daughter knows and writes Elvish. It’s a skill that will take her far in life be fun to pull out at the right times in life like a Lord of the Rings party or at the grave of J.R.R. Tolkien in 2004…Katie would not let us leave Oxford till we found Tolkien’s grave. This was no small feat! Here we are at Wolvercote Cemetery in North Oxford at the graveside where he and his wife are buried. His son is buried here, also. Katie left a note in Elvish, (yes, she learned to write and speak Tolkien’s Elvish).
EDITH MARY TOLKIEN
LUTHIEN
1889 – 1971
JOHN RONALD
REUEL TOLKIEN
BEREN
1892 – 1973
This Thanksgiving our Westside kids will stay on the westside. Our eastside kids will be at our house for Thanksgiving along with my sister and her hubby and Jamie’s mom, also known as Granny to our Grands. Nine at the table giving thanks for all that we have been given and all the love we share.
-1
The Happy Wonderer ~ ellen b. 